Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced the formation of a new government after more than two years under a caretaker cabinet, amid political deadlock and a severe economic collapse, Al-Jazeera reported. On Saturday, the presidency confirmed the resignation of the interim government and the appointment of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's new cabinet, which consists of 24 ministers. This marks Lebanon's first full government since 2022.
The new cabinet’s initial task is to draft a policy statement outlining its priorities and approach. Afterward, it will need a vote of confidence from Lebanon’s parliament to officially take power.
Prime Minister Salam, a former diplomat and president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), promised to reform Lebanon's judiciary, introduce economic changes, and bring stability. During his speech at the presidential palace, Salam reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to implementing UN resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel and called for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other armed groups from southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.
This new government represents a shift away from leadership closely aligned with Hezbollah, as Lebanon seeks to access reconstruction funds and investments after last year’s war with Israel and recover from an ongoing economic crisis that began in 2019.
Although Hezbollah did not endorse Salam as prime minister, the group did negotiate with him over the allocation of Shia Muslim seats in the new cabinet, in line with Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system. In early January, former army chief Aoun, another candidate not backed by Hezbollah and its allies, was elected president, ending a lengthy vacancy in the position.
The announcement comes after US Deputy Middle East Envoy Morgan Ortagus demanded that Hezbollah be excluded from Lebanon's government, stressing that Washington had drawn a “red line” regarding the group's presence in the cabinet. The US Embassy in Lebanon issued a statement on Saturday, welcoming the new government and expressing hope that it would implement reforms and rebuild the country’s state institutions.
The United Nations’ special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, also welcomed the formation of the new government, calling it the end of a political deadlock and the beginning of “a new and brighter chapter for Lebanon.”
